Cardiff 6 - 1 Derby
Cardiff City came into this home clash against Derby County with a losing streak of 3 games and only taking 3 points from the last 6. Cardiff were faltering and on the edge of a disastrous start to their first season in the new stadium. Oh how it has all changed.
For me the game started like an old black and white film, the picture coming in and out as the gentleman in-front of me couldn’t decide whether he was going to stand or sit. Luckily for me he curbed his excitement and decided upon the latter and I started to get a peek at the game. As I glanced around the stadium I could easily pick out the empty blue seats, perhaps an indication of Cardiff’s recent form. However the Cardiff faithful around me couldn’t help but create a marvellous atmosphere as they always do for the start of games.
The match started off quietly with Cardiff threatening with small breaks, the midfield playing angled through-balls for Michael Chopra or Jay Bothroyd to run onto. Alas more often than not the pass was over hit or the run offside. However on the 10th minute the patient build up paid off, as Stephen McPhail played Bothroyd through on the right. The Islington born striker had an age of time and from the edge of the box managed to find Peter Whittingham with a well-placed square ball, allowing the winger to fire Cardiff into the lead.
Derby rallied well with Robbie Savage and Lee Hendrie working well together in the middle, and a long range effort from on-loan Fulham right-back Fredrik Stoor after he cut in and let loose. Cardiff’s attack may be free-flowing again but the defence is still weak and a better team will know how to pick the centre backs apart. This was shown as a lack of communication in the defensive ranks gave Lee Croft a chance, but he could only find the side of David Marshall’s net.
Derby’s good play continued into the quarter-hour mark with Savage and Croft combining well on the right. This produced a poor cross which Mark Hudson met with an equally poor clearance, allowing the ball to drop to Hendrie on the edge of the Cardiff box. Hudson managed to recover quickly and block the resultant shot.
An injury to Derby’s centre back Dean Leacock forced Nigel Clough (The Derby Manager) into an early change, bringing on James McEveley on the half hour mark. Six minutes later Chopra managed to get ahead of McEveley to meet a pin-point cross from Whittingham, catching the ball sweetly on the volley sending it into the bottom corner of the goal for Cardiff’s second goal.
Derby threatened near the end of the half with Hendrie giving the ball to Rob Hulse who turned the sluggish Anthony Gerrard. It took a last ditch tackle from Mark Kennedy to stop the Derby striker, allowing Marshall to clear the ball. Throughout the first half Cardiff’s attack had been as fluent as water and Derby’s defence had more holes than a sieve, but Cardiff’s defence wasn’t any better, with the centre halves still making me nervous every time every time Derby attacked.
I don’t know what Nigel Clough said to his team in the dressing room but it seemed to work from the first minute of the second half. As the ball was played in to the Cardiff box, Hudson went up to meet it, but misjudged the flight, allowing it to float over his head into the path of Hulse who buried the chance, getting Derby back into the game. The perfect start to the second half for the neutral observer, which of course I’m not. I was rather upset with Hudson, who again proved that we were scammed by Charlton Athletic who took £5 million off us.
The goal gave Derby confidence, who managed to win a free kick on the right wing. The ball was punted into the Cardiff box, where Rob Hulse had a chance to level the match. The ball came into the area and all though there were at least eight or nine Cardiff players around him, Hulse managed to find a free header. Luckily he could only find Marshall’s grateful hands with the attempt but the warning signs were there, Cardiff were relaxing and they couldn’t afford it.
As it neared the hour mark the game sparked to life, with Gavin Rae playing a pass to Chris Burke who cleverly back-healed it through to Chopra, giving him the chance finish low into the corner of the goal, giving Cardiff back their two goal advantage. Then three minutes later the ball was played to Derby’s Rob Hulse who flicked the ball around Hudson far too easily and fired a quick shot off. The Derby fans were ready to celebrate, but Marshall managed to deny them the opportunity with a fantastic save diving across his goal and parrying the ball around the post.
Then on the 63rd minute McPhail sprayed a brilliant ball through to Chopra with the outside of his boot, allowing him to complete his hat-trick. I hadn’t even had chance to scribble some notes about the goal when McPhail played the ball out wide to Burke who cut in and smashed the ball past Stephen Bywater making it 5-1.
This was when a murmur came from behind; apparently the guy behind me had put an obscure bet on Cardiff winning 6-1 for a laugh. The word quickly spread through the Canton stand and everyone was talking about this guy. Then 15minutes later after a few flicks from Cardiff, McPhail combined with Chopra again, sending the ex-Newcastle player through for his forth.
This sent the crowd into hysterics, and for the man behind me I can understand why. I mean, he had just won twelve grand from a bet that cost him little under a fiver. He was so overjoyed that he threw his coke, which he had just purchased (they’re not cheap in the stadium) down the aisle, amazingly not soaking anyone. And so the next 15 minutes would either make or break this man. The news had now spread across the stand, and most were cheering, “WE WANT SEVEN!” This didn’t go down well with the man, and as it neared the end he couldn’t bear the pressure, heading to the bar.
He didn’t miss much, just a few self-created chances for Bothroyd; whose performance merited a goal. Alas when your luck is in, it’s in, and this £12k winner was lucky, for the most threatening chance came from a Bothroyd run that ended up in the side netting. With 2 minutes left Chopra was taken off, so that he can have his own standing ovation, to be replaced by Josh Magennis.
Overall the brilliant attacking performance from Cardiff was tempered by the defensive fragility. Again I don’t have anything good to say about the centre backs, but at least Michael Chopra is back on form, and back with a bang. For me the key difference was McPhail being in the middle, where he controlled the play and delivered high quality passes out to the wings or up to the strikers. Also Bothroyd was much more active, making good runs and when he got the ball he held onto it, instead of losing it or flumping to the floor like he’s been doing recently.
For info on Sports organisations operating in Cardiff check out our directory.
